Doc Grimwald NPC's page

After the group describes the general type of corpse they are looking for, Doc nods knowingly.

"Ah... I think I see where this is going. Let me introduce you to one of my tenants."

He goes over to the bank of drawers against one wall and pulls it open. Within is the body of an elderly human woman.

"May I present Mrs. Grace Danhavel. No fixed address, died of natural causes two nights ago. No next of kin, so the body was going to be 'donated' to the various services that have a use for them. I'm no plastic surgeon, so modifying the body is up to you, but for the low price of 60 credits she's all yours. I'll throw in a free body bag."

FYI: Modifying the body will require a Medicine or Disguise check. Alternately you could hack Ceren's medical records to have them match the body with a Computers check.

"Merchandise, eh?" the man says as he stands and dabs his mouth with a small kerchief. "You don't look like the usual sort I get around here. Not for that sort of thing."

He smiles, and shrugs. "But that's all right. I don't see that there's any need to discriminate. You wouldn't ask if you didn't have your reasons."

"Are you looking for a complete cadaver, or just certain parts?"

The coroner checks the credstick and pockets it with a smile.

"Just give me a few moments, and I'll have that ready for you. You can wait here, or in the lobby. There's coffee out there."

He sits at a terminal at the far end of the room, and begins entering data into the computer, frequently consulting the files you have given him on Ceren.

After about fifteen minutes he returns with a data wafer.

"The death certificate has been filed with the station authorities, and there's a copy on this wafer."

"It's been a pleasure. If there's nothing else, I will bid you a good day."

"What say Jubair here signs the paperwork to allow the donation of the body for the benefit of others in need of organs, and you can keep the honorarium? We'll give you 25 credits for your trouble. Here is the deceased's personal information for your forms."

The coroner smiles again.

"There would hardly be an honorarium for a deceased relative if there's no body, now would there? The service that collects the donated cadavers is a little sticky on that point. I'd rather not get on their bad side. It's one thing to offer money to a young woman like yourself for the use of her body after she dies. But for someone who is already deceased, knowing the service won't get to cash in?"

He shakes his head, and wipes the corners of his mouth again with his handkerchief.

"You want me to write up a death certificate for someone without seeing the body, I can do that... for its own 'honorarium.'" He chuckles. "But if you're worried about the lack of a body, I could submit records that a Solar Burial was performed. Especially if the deceased was a follower of Sarenrae - they go for those. Unless someone wants to comb the inner system looking for the body before it falls into the sun, you're in the clear, and even if they do they'll never know if they just couldn't find it."

He shrugs.

"Give me 100 credits, and about 15 minutes, and it's done."

"When someone's body is taken for organ harvesting, do you keep a record of that transaction? Seems like people might not want it known who ended up with their kidneys. What kind of expenses does such an arrangement incur for you? What kind of reward to people generally get for donating their bodies in this way."

"Oh, sure," the pale man says. "It's all quite legit. But we don't have a record of who the... recipient would be. A service collects the body, and gives us a receipt. They use everything they can, so there's no need for the bereaved ones to worry about disposing of any remains. We still sometimes arrange for a monument of some kind, though we don't actually make those here."

"As to expenses, there's hardly any for us at all. If we're not required to do an autopsy, once we've verified the identity of the deceased the service just picks them up. Just some paperwork on our part. We would only embalm someone if they weren't donating their body, because the embalming process ruins the body for any medical purposes. If someone wants to have an open casket ceremony then that would cost significantly more, though how much would depend on the condition of the body. We can also arrange solar burials - that one is very popular for people who don't want to donate their remains."

He shrugs.

"As to rewards, someone your age with decades of life ahead of you would typically get a 100 credit honorarium for signing such a card. You need to have a fixed address somewhere though; if you were an asteroid miner or something they might never find you to collect your body. They don't get a body for every agreement, but they do like to keep the average up. If you were in good physical condition but also very close to death, the reward would be much higher."

"If you think someone wanted to have their body donated, but forgot to make such an agreement, if you are family or the executor of their estate you have the right to make such an agreement on their behalf."

He smiles again.

"Somehow, though I don't think you are really here to discuss donating your organs."